Loneliness is on the rise, with more than one in eight adults saying they do not have a close friend – an increase on previous years, according to new research.

Almost seven million people in the UK do not have someone they can rely on, Charities Relate and Relationships Scotland say.

Relate said it was concerned that increased dependence on social media, lack of work/life balance and the pressures of bringing up children could be affecting people's friendships.

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Charities Relate and Relationships Scotland say loneliness is on the rise, with more than one in eight adults reporting that they do not have a close friend. The survey found older people were less likely to be lonely (stock image)

KEY FINDINGS

More than 5,000 people responded to the survey.

Seven million people, more than one in eight adults, say they do not have a close friend.

45 per cent of UK adults felt lonely at least some of the time.

18 per cent felt lonely often or all of the time.

17 per cent said they either never or rarely felt loved.

83 per cent of people in the UK enjoyed good relationships with their friends.

18 per cent of people said they had two or three close friends.

The charity's report, You're Not Alone – The Quality of the UK's Social Relationships, found 13 per cent of respondents did not have someone they were close with, up from 10 per cent when the same question was asked in 2014 and 2015.

They also found that almost half (45 per cent) of UK adults felt lonely at least some of the time and almost a fifth (18 per cent) felt lonely often or all of the time.

Chief executive Chris Sherwood said: 'It's often said that we should be able to count our true friends on one hand but it's very concerning that so many people feel they don't have a single friend they can rely on.

Based on a survey of more than 5,000 people, the report found that almost one in six (17 per cent) said they never (5 per cent) or rarely (12 per cent) felt loved.

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On a positive note, the research found that 83 per cent of people in the UK enjoyed good relationships with their friends.

The most commonly reported number of close friends is two or three, with 18 per cent of people selecting each number, while six per cent of people feel they have more than 10 close friends.

People from the East Midlands were the most likely to report having no close friends – 17 per cent or one in six, whereas people living in the South West were the least likely say this – 10 per cent or one in 10.

People with no close friends are two-and-a-half times as likely to say they feel down, depressed or hopeless either often or all the time (31 per cent) as those with four or more close friends (13 per cent), according to the report.

Younger people were more likely to report feeling lonely than older people, with almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of 16 to 24-year-olds saying they felt lonely at least some of the time, while almost a third (32 per cent) felt lonely often or all the time.

Among people aged 65 or over, 32 per cent said they felt lonely at least sometimes and 11 per cent felt lonely often or all the time.

Mr Sherwood added: 'Making friends and keeping them isn't always easy: it can take time and effort that we don't always have to spare.

Relate said it was concerned that increased dependence on social media, lack of work/life balance and the pressures of bringing up children could be affecting people's friendships (stock image)

'Life can take over as we juggle careers with family life and it might seem as if our social media friend count is high but what is the quality of those friendships really like?

'Social relationships are essential to our health and wellbeing. We mustn't take them for granted.

'People need support to be able to nurture personal friendships and feel part of a community.'